I Became the Main Character’s Demon Sword

15

“The progress?”

“I’ll guide you. It’s better if you see for yourself.”

The man, hiding his bleeding hand, entered the annex first. Even before the young lady fell ill, the annex seemed to have been a neglected building, as the interior upon opening the door was the opposite of the main building.

Dusty clouds rose with each step on the accumulated floor dust, and the windows, hazy from long neglect, obscured the view outside.

“Who would have known that the woman captured for the experiment was a maid from the lord’s castle? We sent her back to observe the progress, as she was an experimental subject who didn’t die even after receiving power after a long time… but she worked at the lord’s castle. It was unfortunate that she died belatedly.”

“Where is the experiment site?”

“Ah, you want to look around there too? If you travel south from the lord’s castle by carriage for about two days, there’s a village surrounded by dense forest. If you climb to the highest point in the forest beyond that village, there’s a bird beak-shaped rock. Touch the tip of the rock three times, and a path will open. If this matter is resolved well, I’ll guide you there right away.”

The man revealed more than expected. Arpel had absolutely no intention of going there immediately after completing the request. When Rohan goes to the temple, revealing this information will help establish a position.

“Is there anything else?”

“Haha, I’m still new, so I don’t know much… I don’t really know any places other than where I worked. Ah, it’s near here. Although black spots appeared on her body from enduring the power, she turned out to be an even better experimental subject than that maid.”

If we secretly remove her by pretending she’s dead, we could get even better results.

The man explained this fact very nonchalantly. His light conversation was like that of merchants selling goods. If only the goods being sold weren’t people.

He had found the branch that caused this incident, and there was no more information to be known. After quietly calculating, Arpel concluded that the man guiding the way no longer had any value and stopped in place.

“Sir? Is something wrong?”

Arpel gave no answer. The man didn’t get a chance to ask Arpel for a reason again. Shadows that surged from beneath his feet swelled and swallowed the man in one gulp.

The cult’s fraudster named Byol disappeared like that, without even uttering a death cry.

“…Is he dead?”

“Yes.”

“I see…”

Although he had said he wanted to come along, it seemed he was somewhat tense since it involved killing a person. Arpel looked down at Rohan, who was making a strange expression, and silently stroked his head.

“Even if you have to kill someone later, don’t get blood on your hands.”

“Why?”

“Because it makes your hands dirty.”

He grasped the small, fair hand. He couldn’t stain these clean, pretty hands with dirty blood.

Someday when he holds a sword, calluses will form on these hands. Thinking that this might be a texture he could only enjoy while Rohan was this young, he kept fiddling with it. A smile spread across Rohan’s face as he stared at his hand being held.

With the priest dealt with, it was now time to see the daughter of this household inside. Thanks to the priest who had revealed her location before dying, they could easily find the room where she was.

As soon as they entered the room, they felt the stuffy air. The smell was terrible, as if it hadn’t been ventilated even once during her confinement. Groaning sounds of illness leaked from the bed inside.

“Rohan. Stay here for a moment.”

After seating Rohan on a dusted sofa, Arpel first turned on the lights in the room and drew the curtains to open all windows. As the breeze and sunlight seeped through the window gaps, the air seemed to clear a bit.

Approaching the bed, he saw a woman with skin clinging to her bones. Someone who didn’t even provide ventilation wouldn’t have properly fed her either. Despite the obvious struggle with illness and suffering, as if wandering in a nightmare without regaining consciousness, Arpel’s face showed no sign of emotion.

Arpel removed the blanket covering her body and immediately checked the location of the spots. Although the aura of wraiths was generally felt on the left side of her body due to the time passed since the spots first appeared, he could easily find the most concentrated area.

The spots started from the arm. Probably where she was hit by the black blood vomited by the dead maid.

He placed his hand and felt the power of wraiths dissolved into the skin. Imagining the power being sucked through his fingertips, soon the resonating power was absorbed through his hand.

Only after confirming once more that no trace of energy remained did he completely remove his hand. The woman was clearly breathing more comfortably than before.

“Rohan. Let’s go.”

Rohan, who had been staring blankly at the scene, immediately ran to Arpel when he called his name. Arpel dusted off the dirt on the child’s clothes and habitually picked up the small body.

He headed not for the door, but the window. After slightly peeking out to check if anyone was passing by outside, Arpel tapped Rohan’s cheek.

“Don’t bite your tongue.”

“What? Ugh!”

The body that lightly stepped on the windowsill immediately fell downwards. While patting the back of the seemingly surprised child, he began leaving traces on the forest path he had observed before entering.

“What are you doing?”

“Disguising it as an escape.”

Although there was no need to conceal the killing, it would make the process more complicated. It was better to treat it as an escape.

The shadow that extended to the side rippled and spat out a white robe. It was the robe worn by the self-proclaimed priest who had just died. He threw it with faint bloodstains into the bushes. They would accept that he had fled while injured.

He planned to tell the Countess separately that he had taken care of it and not to worry about it. They would conduct a nominal investigation, but it would remain unsolved. As wraiths were originally unknown beings, it was best for them not to dig deeper.

After roughly examining the traces left, Arpel looked up. He sensed commotion from above.

“…Seems it’s been lifted.”

He could faintly hear a man’s voice mixed in. The suggestion blocking rational thought would have been lifted right after the priest’s death, so it made sense for them to rush to the annex urgently.

Carrying Rohan, he entered deeper into the annex and retraced the corridor they had walked earlier. The commotion grew louder as they approached.

“Lisa! Are you conscious?”

“Lisa, open your eyes…”

“Ah… Dad?”

The room’s door was wide open. Louis, who had hurriedly followed to protect them, had tears in his eyes. While gazing at the family reunion scene, Arpel glanced down at Rohan.

The child was quietly watching the three of them. Although the Count had neglected his daughter after being deceived by a scoundrel, he cared enough about his family to regain his senses and rush here as soon as that man died. The Countess also loved such a husband, so they were probably quite an ideal family.

Arpel knew that Rohan was recalling his own family. Had his family been happy? Since he had been so saddened by their deaths, they were likely a close-knit family with happy days, even if not wealthy.

Although he couldn’t fully understand that sadness, thinking that Rohan was sad made his chest feel tight. So he silently raised his hand to stroke the child’s head.

“…I’m okay.”

“I see.”

“Really, I am… Really…”

I’m really okay…

His voice trailed off. Arpel embraced Rohan, who had been standing holding his hand, with both arms. Rohan quickly nestled into his embrace without resistance, resting his head on Arpel’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to try to forget.”

“…But.”

“Whenever you feel sad remembering your family, I’ll always be by your side.”

It’s okay to cry. As Arpel gently stroked the back of his neck, sniffling sounds escaped. Rohan, tightly hugging Arpel’s neck, muttered in a voice moist with tears.

“…Can’t Arpel be my family?”

“Sure. I’ll be your family.”

There was no hesitation in the answer. Rohan suddenly lifted his head at the response. His golden eyes, seeming to sparkle even more from the tears, curved into a smile. Unfortunately, it was a somewhat awkward smile, distorted by the remaining traces of crying.

“…If you laugh while crying, horns will grow on your bottom.”

“I’ve never heard that before…”

“I guess it’s not a saying here.”

He shared a saying he had vaguely heard before, but it seemed to be unheard of in this place. The child, laughing softly, whispered.

“It’s really okay. Because Arpel said he’d become my family, it’s really okay.”

A smile also formed on Arpel’s lips as he heard the voice full of joy. It was a more distinct smile than before.

***

Only after the estate’s doctor rushed over and diagnosed severe malnutrition and weakness, prescribing proper rest for the time being, did the Count and Countess catch their breath. The Countess was the first to regain her composure, and she slapped the back of the Count, who was still apologizing and clinging to their daughter saying he was sorry.

Anyway, Arpel was now able to have a conversation with them.

“Really… I don’t know how to express my gratitude. You are our family’s benefactor.”

The Count bowed his head once again, expressing his thanks. A few more words followed, but although the content differed, they all amounted to expressions of gratitude. It was quite a tedious repetition, but Arpel silently listened with one ear and let it pass.

“Dear, that’s enough now. He must be busy.”

“Ah… right. I’m sorry. I’m just so out of it.”

“It’s fine.”

As he showed signs of calming down, this time the Countess asked with a worried look.

“What about that fraudster…?”

“He was wounded but escaped. He won’t return again.”

Arpel stared directly at the Countess without avoiding her gaze. The Countess swallowed hard at his calm purple eyes that showed no sign of agitation. She recalled the warning not to dig too deep that she had heard when they first talked.

“…I see. We should conduct a simple investigation, I suppose. Thank you so much.”

The Countess, who had been pale for a moment, nodded. Having been told this, she likely wouldn’t concern herself with the man’s fate.